08/04/2022
Finance Minister Rishi Sunak has asked the Royal Mint — the government-owned company responsible for minting coins for the U.K. — to create and issue the NFT “by the summer,” City Minister John Glen said at a fintech event in London. “There will be more details available very soon,” he added.
The U.K.’s NFT initiative is part of a broader effort by the government to “lead the way” in crypto, according to Glen. The minister announced a number of steps the U.K. will take to bring digital assets under more regulatory scrutiny, including plans to:
* Bring stablecoins within the U.K.’s existing regulations on electronic payments.
* Consult on a “world-leading regime” for regulating trade in other cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin.
* Ask the Law Commission to consider the legal status of blockchain-based communities known as decentralized autonomous organizations, or DAOs.
* Examine the tax treatment of decentralized finance (DeFi) loans and “staking,” which gives crypto users the ability to earn interest on their savings.
* Establish a Cryptoasset Engagement Group that will be chaired by ministers and host members from U.K. regulators and crypto businesses.
* Explore the application of blockchain technology in issuing debt instruments.
*